Memphis Police Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

21 Jun, 2023

After 2 1/2 years of delays, journalist files public records suit against Memphis over police audits
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After 2 1/2 years of delays, journalist files public records suit against Memphis over police audits

public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests

After 2 1/2 years of delays, journalist files public records suit against Memphis over police audits

By Deborah Fisher|2023-06-21T09:47:12-05:00June 21, 2023|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: delays, Marc Perrusquia, Memphis Police, Paul McAdoo, public records requests|0 Comments

For 2 1/2 years, Memphis journalist Marc Perrusquia has received perfunctory communications from the city of Memphis that it is still reviewing and considering his records request, each time pushing the date for their response down the road. Perrusquia is asking for audits of a Memphis police program that provides intervention for officers who have exhibited behavior or performance problems. However, the city has stonewalled his request, contacting him 41 times over the 2 1/2 years extending the "time necessary" to complete the request. Now he has filed a lawsuit challenging those delays and in an effort to shake loose the audits.

2 May, 2022

Journalist sues Memphis to gain access to police performance improvement plans
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Journalist sues Memphis to gain access to police performance improvement plans

Public Records

Journalist sues Memphis to gain access to police performance improvement plans

By Deborah Fisher|2022-05-05T14:09:42-05:00May 2, 2022|Categories: Public Records|Tags: Local Legal Initiative, Marc Perrusquia, Memphis, Memphis Police, Paul McAdoo, performance improvement plans, personnel records, police records|0 Comments

Marc Perrusquia, a journalist whose reporting has exposed problems in the Memphis police department, has filed a lawsuit challenging the city's denial of access to documents that would show how the city responded to a history of trouble with three officers.

9 Jul, 2020

Memphis police limits media requests to view public records to one journalist per day

By Deborah Fisher|2020-10-02T12:17:08-05:00July 9, 2020|Categories: requests|Tags: COVID-19, excessive force complaints, inspection, Institute for Public Service Reporting, Marc Perrusquia, Memphis Police, public records requests|0 Comments

The Memphis police department is limiting journalists who want to view its public records, allowing only one media appointment per day and limiting that appointment to three hours. Mark Perrusquia learned that he could only inspect records a maximum of twice a week at the Memphis Police Department, slowing his review of five years of excessive force reports. Now, police are limiting access even further, saying they'll only allow one journalist per day. Marc Perrusquia, a longtime Memphis journalist at The Commercial Appeal and now director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis, in early June requested copies of excessive report complaints against Memphis police [...]

30 Sep, 2016

Learning from Memphis: Media coverage of police shootings

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:57:16-05:00September 30, 2016|Categories: crime records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Amy Weirich, Darrius Stewart, Memphis Police, police body cameras, police shootings, TBI|0 Comments

In Memphis this week, about 80 news reporters, activists, attorneys and college students came together to examine how media can, should and does cover police shootings. The centerpiece was the case of 19-year-old Darrius Stewart, who was shot and killed last year by Memphis police officer Connor Schilling after a traffic stop, sparking protests and concerns from the African-American community. The daylong workshop, developed by the Memphis Bar Association, comes at a time of national attention on police shootings, driven often by dramatic video recorded by bystanders and family members. The video and circumstances around the shootings have raised questions about the use of lethal force and racial bias. (See: [...]

7 Sep, 2016

Memphis Bar Association to host deep dive into Darrius Stewart police shooting case

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-21T16:58:45-05:00September 7, 2016|Categories: crime records, Open Courts, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Amy Weirich, Darrius Stewart, Lucian Pera, Memphis, Memphis Bar Association, Memphis Police, police shootings, public records training, Roy L. Austin Jr.|0 Comments

The Memphis Bar Association is hosting "Covering Police-Involved Shootings: A Deep Dive into the Darrius Stewart Case" on Sept. 28 as part of a daylong program bringing together journalists, lawyers and policymakers. Participants will have an opportunity to hear and interact with lawyers, judges, prosecutors and reporters who were involved in the Stewart case or covered it. Roy L. Austin Jr. Roy Austin Jr., deputy assistant to President Obama and Director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs, Justice, and Opportunity, will be the keynote speaker at lunch and share a national and policy perspective on police shootings. Later in the day, veteran reporters and lawyers will [...]